Negotiating Identities Across Filipino and Thai EFL Contexts: A Narrative Inquiry of a Filipino Teacher’s Professional Identity Re-construction

Abstract

Language learning is not only about achieving communicative purposes, but also entails investing in a second language and struggling with identity re-construction, which is shaped and positioned by sociocultural institutions and ideological structures. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence a Filipino teacher to invest in English language learning, and how she re-constructs her professional identity in the target community of Thai EFL context. The narrative inquiry was adopted to collect data from our only participant’s stories, using semi-structured interview protocols. The data was transcribed using Braun and Clarke’s (2012) six-phase approach to thematic analysis. To ensure the trustworthiness of the research, the internal validity was established by using triangulating analysts with two inter-raters and respondent validation. From the narratives, it was found that poverty and economic status, her goal of life, and the perception of English as a powerful language were major factors influencing the teacher’s investment in English language learning. Additionally, her educational degree, teaching skills, institutional support, social network, and ability to adjust to the sociocultural norms, expectations, and language policy in the Thai EFL context were all pivotal tools contributing to her success in identity re-construction. These findings emphasize the significant relationship between language, power, investment, and identity from a sociocultural perspective.